


The Book of Daniel

by rsfahrudeen



Series: Four Little Archangels [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Brother Complex, Crack, Dysfunctional Family, First Crush, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sabriel, Jealous Gabriel, Jealous Lucifer, Jealous Raphael, POV Gabriel, Protective Older Brothers, Time Travel, Unrequited Love, failing to remain an objective narrator, if you squint and turn your head, pre fall archangels, story telling by the angel of ADHD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-06 02:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6734275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rsfahrudeen/pseuds/rsfahrudeen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eessentially a combination of pre mankind archangels and the story of Gabriels first crush.</p><p>(Try not to think too much about when or why Gabriel is relating this story, just enjoy)</p><p>Freshly rewritten so if you were one of the first fourty to read it before give it another try. Theres alot more to it now. If its better let me know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's All Only Sort of My Fault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the whole mess started to begin with.

   See, the problem with being the baby of the family is that, well, you're the baby and pretty much always will be. Having three protective older siblings can be a fine and useful thing. Its easier to leap when you know someone is going to be there to catch you. Having three overprotective older siblings is a pain in the ass. A smothering, stifling, confining pain in the ass. 

          Nevermind that  I outraced a dozen of auntie's twisted constructs at once all coming from different directions at once before a thirteenth got me. I gave them such a good chase none ever got near Raph. Never mind that I saved over four hundred of our poor injured younger brothers from the clutches of the leviathan when we were herding them into pergatory. I still say they were too young for that and throwing bodies at something is no substitute for tactics which you would have had Michael if you'd just listened to Luci even if he was being a dick about it. Never mind that I was the only one to teach a late blooming fledgeling to fly so well that we never needed step in for any more individual flying lessons. Never mind all that because apparently little Gabriel is a delicate flower to be sheltered and protected at all costs and nothing will convince those three otherwise.

        That's not to say I didn't get in trouble. The aforementioned flying lessons as a notable example. And sure, now that I'm older and wiser maybe I was a little reckless. I still maintain that while yes, I may have irreparably scarred the poor kid for life, that's better than letting him die. And as it turned out having a healthy skepticism and belief of the fallibilty of your angellic superiors ingrained so deeply in your psyche that even multiple wipings cant get rid of it completely isn't such a bad thing. (Because you are all very fallible and you know it, Michael, Lucifer, and holy fuck Raph, what the hell! You were the rational, steady one for dad's sake.) 

       Anyways a fear of the ocean isnt even all that bad either. Humans generally stay on dry land and you have to admit it was funny as hell when he freaked out and tried to smite the precursor of all humanity when the fish started to leave the ocean. Not even a proper smiting, he was going it step on it. Of course my brothers couldn't see the humor. Michael gave me that 'I blame you for this' look that he usually sent Luci's way in regards to me. Of course that made it even funnier and I laughed so hard I dropped out of the sky. Dad didn't admit to finding it amusing, but he didn't say otherwise either. And come on, if dad didn't have a sense of humor, none of us would, right?

        I didn't really get punished often because generally I didn't exactly go against the rules. Actually a good deal of the rules were created because of me. One slow era of creation I was so bored that I'd try and see how many new rules I could get created. After Luci figured out what I was doing he would sometimes give me a challenge. Could I get this certain color banned on this specific day? Could I get an absurd hairstyle forbidden? Can I add something to the list of things we're not allowed to do with our loose feathers? The weird thing is a lot of challenges ended up exposing pretty big flaws in our training processes. 

       Anyway, punishment, not really. Consequences sure. Like being banned from visiting the fledgelings in the garden until Dad got home from work and we discussed my questionable training method. Which was fair. Then there was the time Luci bound me wing and limb and tossed me to the bottom of an empty sea then stood on me for pranking him and Michael. And then there were the complete overprotective over reactions.

       Oh, Gabriel runs to the edge of oblivion when we argue because it's the only place to get some damn peace? Let's move the entire abyss to some unreachable place because thats so much more reasonable than stopping all the damn fighting that's driving him up the wall in the first place.

         And you think that the mark Lucifer got sealing away the darkness is slowly corrupting him and possibly infecting Gabriel, too, by mere proximity? By no means let Gabriel know any of that. Don't even consider telling him anything. Just ban him from the throne room even though he's the only thing between Luci and complete and utter lonliness most of the time.

      Obviously it's better to let me think that it was my fault my brothers clashed so much and that I just wasn't enough to get through to him before he snapped and got himself kicked out.  After all when trying to talk my big brother down from that particular ledge why would that have been useful to know at all?

          But no, it was always this is for your own good, Gabriel. Or you'll understand later, Gabriel. And, don't tell Gabriel now. Honestly I'm surprised I didn't split long before Luci ever did. Of course there wasn't anything to run to way back when. Nature was nice but lonely. Granted, the edge of the abyss was solitary but it was peaceful, serene, empty. There was no lonliness, because there was just nothing. Except myself and a gentle pull that felt like being wanted, that called to me. But that option was gone. You can't run away to the circus if there's no circus.

    So I was kind of desperate for something to do. It was quiet right after I started getting even with Michael and Lucifer for removing my sanctuary and Raphael for tattling on me in the first place. They tried to involve me more in other things like the training and such, but that never lasted long. So I was just constantly bugging everyone for some task to do. I was trying to be good and not cause more trouble. Their last fight kind of wrecked the garden and I just tried not to be such a pain. That didn't work as apparently I can't help getting in the way no matter what I do. They actually went to dad and begged him to manufacture something for me to do that didn't spread chaos and discord. I still dont understand how simply asking for constructive tasks did that, but whatever.

      So Dad on one of his frequent returns to give Luci a break from the throne room had me stay and get kind of a peek at his big plan. I was his messenger after all and he had a fairly impressive outline of his master plan done already. He let me know my parts. I'd be delivering his messages to mankind, the thing he had made everything up to and beyond that moment for. When the time in the future came for those sets of messages I'd just know what to do for who. Of course that didn't strike me as particularly helpful as none of those times were right that second.

       That's when he explained the nature of time to me, which was incredibly interesting and even more so a teeming mass of headaches and confusion, something about how every possible choice that can be made will be made and is being made, threads of reality with one starting point and one eventual ending and infinite divergences in between, including a reality in which I was actually paying attention to everything he was saying.

        I love hearing my father's voice and even now I miss it like anything, but the whole lecture kind of reminded me of Michael explaining the purpose of basic tactics and benefits of repetative training manuevers and it was just so hard to pay attention. My mind started to wander I admit it, but even the quickest of us can't keep up with the big guy at full speed and his words soon became just a soothing hum until he got to the important stuff.

        "What I'm getting at, Gabriel, my little angel of adhd," he sounded amused so I wasn't at all bothered by the fact that I didn't understand what a hillariously appropriate though affectionate label he gave me."Is that you have a choice before you now. You can continue to flit about heaven or I can have you get most of your work done early, while I'm finishing up here."

         "Well, which is the best decision in the long run?" Because I thought it was a good question.

          "I just explained to you in detail why I can't possibly answer that question." He was very nice about reminding me.

         "Oh." And since anything was better than doing nothing I decided to do it. Why not right? I'd be out of my brother's hair, no more boredom and i'd get a sneak peak at what dad was working on before anyone else, a new set of skills, bending time, an illusion better than any Luci could teach me to make a sort of light puppet mini me, what a vessel was a how to ask to use it. And what's more is that when all of it was done, I'd be free and my brothers would be free and we could all frolic in creation together.  Ha, fucking ha, dad! Oh, I know you probably have some answer as to how there was a reality where you didn't let me think it was true and one where it actually was true. But that's not the point Dad and if Lucifer had kept his complaints and blame to you and you alone I probably would have agreed and left with him. But you don't go kick puppies because daddy's being mean. That's not okay.

          Of course I wasn't allowed to reveal my messages to anyone but the recipient. And any time I'd had enough or needed a break I could come home and let time resume its course. If I needed help in whatever time I was in I could of course call for my brothers but our interactions should be fairly limited. I also wouldn't be allowed to redeliver or interfere later as doing so on that scale would break the thread entirely. Instead of just snarl it a little in certain places with a few tiny time loops.

        And so the whole thing with Daniel was as much my fault as anyone else's. But it wasnt all my fault and if im a little bitter about that giant humiliating, exhilerating, embarassing clusterfuck that was my time as messenger to the prophet Daniel of Babylon, then I kind of feel I have a right to be. After all it wasn't my choice to have my brothers decide that past me was better off not knowing what was so close to happening and therefore pretty much ensuring it happened. As if a thread where I was losing my brother to his own darkness wasn't one worth splintering.

      Instead it made it one of those whole self fulfilling loops that led me to burning down all those theaters that decided multiple competing productions of Oedipus Rex were a good idea.(relax i undid it) And if i did happen to turn into an eagle and drop a turtle on the head of a certain father of greek tragedy, let me assure you that wasn't my only reason. Nor was it the sheer hilarity of making that his epitaph. He deserved it even by the standards of the time. I should have had him killed by a dewey eyed bear cub but that reference was millenia away. What good is a joke if no one gets it?

         Moving on.....


	2. Ignorance is Bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where an sweet young angel in the flower of his innocence meets an unfortunate young prophet who most decidedly is not and gets seduced (not literally) right alongside a king.

       For the most part the messages i went to deliver were breif and often to the point, there were a few dreams, some interpretations, some chaperoning, and alot I didnt know. Though Joseph was an insufferably arrogant little shit and I blame his father more than his brothers for the whole thing with the goat. I mean come on that many brothers agreeing on anything is a clear sign that things were long since out of hand with that boy.

       I didn't really get to see any wars or anything. I didnt have to smite anyone which was nice. That thing with stopping the donkey was funny as hell. (And no i dont approve of cruelty to animals, as im sure i have made very clear, so I didn't let that poor thing actually feel the blows.) I found Jonah equally hillarious at the time, though i kind of feel for the poor pouty cowardly bastard now.

       I never interacted with any of my future versions of my older brothers at all until Daniel, though. Not even the little ones which yes are technically just as much my brothers but at the same time not really. They're the adam to my elder brothers' sam, so to speak. I care of course, but if push comes to shove.... eh. (And that is the only way i'd better ever hear myself compared to dean winchester. Im infinitely funnier, my pranks are way more epic, and dimples? Way cuter than freckles.)

      There was also alot i didnt know, such as what a nephalim was, that they were the reason Dad had to flood the earth, or that there were way more people than could ever have fit on any of those boats i had to instruct people to build. See Dad didnt just save noah and his sons, he saved noahs grandsons and great grandsons from having to start an endless cycle of inbreeding. Theres just not enough room for everything in one book after all. The bible's really just a holy crib sheet cobbled together from other peoples notes.

      When I first met Daniel he was still young. It was kind of hard for me to tell how young because i was at equivalent maturity myself. I can admit that now. (Besides that doesnt change that i was at the time the seventh oldest thing in creation.) Daniel had only just become a man, not that they held bar mitzvahs in the enuch palaces of ancient babylon.

         And I was still a sweet young thing, only just starting to blossom into then lovely lily of the valley i would later become. (Shut up. Just because im not delicate, doesnt mean im not a rare and lovely flower and i will smite anyone who says differently. I mean, sure I'm no Lucifer, but I'm fucking adorable and you know it.) I was also embarrasingly naive and unaware of certain concepts such as what exactly it meant to be a eunuch, or what pederasty was.

       Sure i was to silently whisper to Daniel that it might be best to keep kosher, but i had no idea at the time why i didnt have to encourage their keeper to indulge them. He was so affectionate to the lovely young prophet and his three almost as lovely freinds. If I'd known it would have been that much harder for me to resist going off script and inflicting pain on the man. As it was i was just happy he let them eat properly and thought the babylonian nicknaming was sweet if miguided.

        I do have to say something about that though. I know mankinds affinity for naming stuff, even if its already named. Its their thing, really. Names, nicknames, labels definitions, it's as entertaining as it is frustrating. But seriously how is Baltheshezzar better than Daniel.

          Sure its Babylonian, not Judean (well technically Enochian, most of their names are) but Daniel is just a cuter name, short sweet, simple, something to easily slide off the tongue in the throes of passion, which is always something to think about if you expect to be gasping for breath at some point. 

      And i really feel thats the whole point of nicknames in general, at least in regards to romance. I mean lets face it, of 'babe' and 'snoogie wuggums' which do you envision in wild porn worthy erotic situations? (If its snoogie wuggums i am deeply concerned for you and the state of your love life. Send a goat and a prayer my way and maybe we can do something about that, hmm?)

       Anywho, the diet and favoritism did wonders and by the time I saw him again, he was tall (so tall), lean, smart, and fine as hell. My first message was to Nebuchadnezzar who shall from now on be refferred to as Numbnutz. (Seriously, what the hell was with those babylonian names?) It was in the form of an important highly prophetic dream which he promptly forgot almost entirely upon waking.

      He did however remember it was troubling and important and needed to be interpreted. So, in what i would later learn to be a characteristically boneheaded move, Numbnutz demanded that his wise men tell him what his dream was before interpreting it and if they couldn't he was going to kill them all, even the new apprentices who werent even informed of the situation.

       Now in the intrests of justice, i do have to state that the rulers and other wise men of the babylonian empire were very good at controlling their kings, generally. Wine, women, song, various mind altering substances that usually kept them docile and compliant but occaisionally backfired spectacularly in incidents such as these. 

       But whatever the reason, bad parents, court conspiracies, genetics (the man was absurdly sensitive to that stuff and never got to be any less of a lightweight either)Numbnutz was still a barely functional idiot and I have never been able to separate beauty and intelligence. A beautiful idiot aint so pretty. And since compared to the morningstar its all varying shades of eh, whatever, theres no such thing as smart and ugly. That anyone would prefer this to an actual capable ruler is something i never understood.

        And this was the thing threatening my prophet. I expected to be called for my first smiting but instead i had to wait and watch. The wise men failed spectacularly, of course. Daniel was not called for as he and his friends were some of the latest additions to the ranks. They'd caught the kings eye and chosen for the ranks thanks to their flawless physiques. And if their masters couldnt answer, how could any of them?

       But being that lovely definitely comes in handy. I didn't need to step in when the guards came to inform Daniel and his freinds that they were being put to death. A coy smile, long lashes and just the right touch of the arm were enough to make the man pause and explain the situation, almost apologizing as he did so.

        "But we havent had our chance yet."he deployed the pout of pouts. "Would you want to take us to our deaths without having to learn first hand what we can do?" And that combined with the power of bitten lips and puppy dog eyes convinced the guard to ensure these little wise men got their audience. Only now can i appreciate the whole thing for what it was, a complete mastery of sex as weapon, to an absolute art. And that pisses me off so much you dont even know.

       Its true that later, after abandoning my angelic duties i sought out each and every person who helped him aquire these skills and well, i like you and dont want to give you nightmares, so you'll just have to be satisfied in knowing that when i was done with them, instant demon. Also imediately smitten. As in i smote them, not that they were in love with me due to some sort of sick masochistic stockholm syndrome. Im not Lucifer, for Dads sake. Im probably going to be called to answer for that at some point, but hey, Im an archangel, hurt our prophets, suffer our wrath, its that simple. Besides if Raph can use that excuse for what he did to our little bro, im good. Probably. Im not that worried about it. Eh, whatever, it was worth it. 

      It wasnt the best message to have to give a king that he was the best of a bad bunch in a failing empire that would be overtaken by the prophets own God and kingdom. And maybe i helped things along by curing a nasty hangover, but given Numbnutz reaction to seeing Daniel again I probably didn't need to. 

       Now Im good at delivering messages, in no small part because im powerful enough not to have to worry about their reactions. I never had to fear for my life or concern myself too much how it was taken in that regard. Honestly I wish i had. Maybe if I'd paid more attention, I'd have done a better job when it came to delivering the messages i crafted myself. Daniel was the master. I think about that performance and im still fangirling over it.

     He played the ingenue to perfection, shy but hopeful, interested but not flirting, demure, awed. He would sneak looks at Numbnutz the not deformed, looking away, not quite meeting his eyes. Adoration with the words of possible praise, hesitation at the telling of the empires misfortune. He was all 'forgive me great king for being so presumptuous' while doing what he was ordered and it worked. Numbnutz was putty in his hands.

       The clincher was when daniel apologized for the message so beseechingly, aware of his own helpless insignificance and mortality, that Numbnutz, stupid but not a complete bastard, fell all over himself to reassure the prophet that no, he was grateful, and just so glad to know, finally know what it meant, i mean it. Don't cry. You wont be punished for obeying me,  i swear. I reward that sort of thing, how does being the third ruler in command sound? And your freinds can have babylon. Those three were your freinds right? Here have some hugs, you poor sweet pretty thing. I'll worship your god, too, if that will help.

        Well, obviously thats not exactly how he responded but it definitely conveys the most accurate impression. Direct translations are almost always lacking. Man if i had that kind of skill i dont think id have gotten in so much trouble back home. Then again i think it only works when paired with sexual attraction, and thats not really a thing in heaven, thank dad. That would just be... no... oh, Dad no, just... no. Nonononono. No. Its weird enough when it comes to unoccupied vessels.

          So the first few jobs with Daniel werent so bad. They were the best i'd had so far. I mean, gorgeous, intelligent, charming, master manipulator, loved my dad. What's not to love right? Well, aside from the obvious, i guess, but i hadnt seen Luci's darkside then. He'd mostly just used his skills trying to get me out of trouble with Michael and Raphael. (Never worked with Raphael though. Of course it didnt have to, Lucifer was older and ruled Heaven when dad was working on earth, then earth when he worked in heaven after all.) Anyway it was clear to me that Daniel was something special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> order of creation  
> 1\. The Darkness  
> 2-3. The Light and Death (order unknown)  
> 4\. Michael  
> 5\. Lucifer  
> 6\. Raphael  
> 7\. Gabriel


	3. Into the flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Numbnutz really fucks things up, my brothers are negligent dicks and it nearly gets all my damn wings burned off.

      Thinking about it, Numbnutz is really too kind of a nickname for King Nebuchadnezzer. Even after, at the behest of his most trusted (and trust worthy) advisor, he eased up on the opiates and other nonkosher urges, he was still dumb as bricks. He'd have to be to think that when Daniel fell victim to an unnatural illness that it would be a good idea to create his own damn god and order his people to stop praying to all others on pain of death.

        It wasnt entirely his fault. He was a complete fucking idiot after all. And Daniel was pretty much his only decent advisor aside from Daniel's freinds in babylon. Their names suck in both languages so lets call them Meekus, Rufus, and Brint. (Merely a comment on their attractiveness and near firey demise, not their intellect. A freak gasoline fight accident, that line always kills me.) 

       Back in those days, prayers had real power. Mostly because people believed they did with a fervency you rarely see today. To truly pray is to offer up a peice of your soul. Its what helped sustain me after i left heaven. Not to mention all the moral support and encouragement it gives to the angel on task.

    Daniel was my task, so any prayers on his behalf sent to heaven were redirected my way. It was a very efficient system but not with the privacy of direct lines to individual angels which came later due to an increased population. And as a way to reduce the heartbreaking trauma of constantly having to recieve and process prayers to deceased or presumed deceased angels. 

          The old system had its benefits. After all if you beseeched the wrong angel, the operators could compensate and send it to the correct one. Not so good if you were using the whole prayer hotline for something other than its intended purposes. (Amirite, Dean-o? If not i'm extremely dissapointed in you.) 

           Unwrapping Daniel from that demonic curse was so disheartening I needed all the help i could get. Skipping through time is exhausting. It depletes your grace to no end and that was with Dad keeping his hand on the back of the bike the whole time i was doing it. No angel can do what i did then on its own. I was completely on my own and almost entirely out of my depth with this curse. I barely knew what i was doing or what it was, and so, naive little thing that i was, i repeatedly called to my brothers for help.

      Michael was unavailable, though he wouldnt say more than that. Raphael was too drained to do more than tell me i was doing well and to just hang in there. But the most disheartening was that i didnt hear from Lucifer at all. No one would tell me anything about anything or even speak to me after those first few responses.  It worried and distracted me to the point where i almost lost Daniel several times. I dont know where the intense focus and desperate determination to save him came from but it was in no small part aided by the steady consistent heartfelt prayers of Meekus, Rufus, and Brint. Without them i would have failed.

          This right here is what I'm talking about. The whole overprotective brothers schtick nearly fucked everything up. Dont tell Gabriel that no ones available because of a damn civil war in heaven. He doesnt need to know that his brothers are in the midst of one of their many battles, killing each other. Nevermind that this particular battle was entirely a distraction tactic to make sure the curse his demons had whipped up had time to eliminate my prophet. Several of Daniels rivals had sold their souls for it, but no, why would any of that be fucking useful to know?

         And even if they were right not to distract me with it, they took it way too far. Even the lesser healers that could have at least held it in place while i took a break or popped into the garden for a quick possible recharge, were kept away from me. Even just someone from the steno pool coudl have been of use. I could have let Numbnutz know I was taking care of things and that removing all of my supports from me at this time was at the very least a bad idea, you stupid waste of clay! But no, they couldnt risk letting me know.

       After all poor doting fragile Gabriel could never resist the siren song of the Morningstar, except of course for the fact that i had and the fact that my future self was not at his side proved it. No it was so much better for him to think that his beloved big brother was hurt or lost or in trouble (instead of being the trouble). That couldn't possibly just as upsetting or distracting as the truth.

        As it was, i succeeded just in time for the next task, saving the tasty trio from Numbnutz' idiocy. They didn't worship the idol, very publicly refused in fact, and kept up their prayers for Daniel's health and recovery. Back then i admired their devotion and loyalty to both daniel and my father. Now i kind of wished maybe theyd just played along and worshipped in secret. Of course, that might have been less effective and used less of the faith i needed, but given what happened next, can you really blame me for being a little biased. 

       Numbnutz had made refusal to worship it a capitol offense. And as further motivation it wouldn't end in a simple hanging or beheading. No, this time they'd be thrown in a vat of fire. Back then i wanted to throttle him, today i might have actually done it.

         But as i said before, idiot, but not total bastard. He did truly care about Daniel and by extension Daniel's freinds. I should give him partial credit for not having them killed immediately. I mean, not many kings give second chances like that. He even begged and pleaded with them and i almost felt sorry for him. He clearly thought their refusal was going to kill Daniel. 

          But come on, the only three of your advisors who don't have it out for Daniel, they all say nope, cant do this, and he doesnt even wonder? They worshipped the same god that sent me to him and daniel both the last time. In fact he'd promised to worship and praise dad as the God of gods, Lord of lords. I was pissed, (and also a bit confused as innocent little me hadnt yet learned you just cant trust the things men say in bed or on their way to it. Or that casual blasphemy was a side effect of free will)

         All that was an afterthought though since, as soon as I had broken the curse i had to race to save his freinds. I didnt even have enough time to fix the remaining damage in his body before the next assignment of saving the three popped into my head. I was exhausted but more annoyed than worried because sheilding three mortal men from fire? Thats nothing.

         So of course, Numbnutz in one of his 'thank god youre pretty'.moments ordered it nine times hotter than the hottest flames. While its possible it was going to happen anyways, there was no non magical way to do that and so they somehow managed to get hold of a spell for hellfire.

          Thats right, exhausted, low on grace, unable to put up any real defenses, totally unprepared for even the existence of hellfire even if I had been, lacking celestial support of any kind because they were all too busy TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER, i had to step into a pit of hellfire, surround and protect three men, and stay there until someone realized there were four people instead of three.

    Bonus points to me for managing not to let on how much it hurt doing that. Do you know how hard it is to condense into a space that small, and maintain an illusion while engulfed in hell fire without using a vessel or blinding anybody? Because I sure as hell didnt. And if Michael and Raph heard me curse them out during this time for their unavailability, they havent mentioned it and im sure as hell not apologizing for it. Though in hind sight i probably should have asked for help again.

          I kept the boys safe though, and in the end when they were let out i figured out how to snuff out the flames singing my wings even more in the process. If Raphael hadn't told me before he was tapped out Id have gone to him at that point in time, but he had and i was hurting too badly to realize it was a bad idea to try and go all the way back. Fortunately i made it, using almost everything I had to get myself to Raphael.

              Im fairly sure Michael and Lucifer were fighting again when I got there. Not sure what about since i wasnt there to cause trouble. But well, thats almost all they did at that point. At least they werent doing it in front of the troops yet. Just repeatedly trashing either their quarters or the garden. 

         I kind of wish I'd seen the looks on their faces when I popped back in, but i dont really remember much about it after that. Every inch of me that hadn't been covering Daniels freinds was burnt to hell, and my grace was almost gone. One thing i did notice is that hellfire burns hurt worse the closer you are to Michael. A brilliant touch from my other brilliant big brother, Lucifer.

         Another thing i remember aside from Lucifers heartbreaking cry of my name was the blissful feel of his ice cold wings surrounding me, soothing my burns more effectively than anything else did. I wouldnt be surprised if that was an intentional part of its design as well. After all its not enough for him to just destroy you, he wants you to love him as he does it. 

        While i didnt know how mad at him I should have been for the whole job like i do now, I was at least a little angry with all of them.  Byt that didn't stand against the relief of being back and safe and having all of them stay there for the worst of it. They also kept the little ones away which im grateful for. It would not have been good for morale for them to have seen one of us like that. We're so much stronger than any of them, it would have been terrifying.   Even just saying i was overworked and needed rest caused concern and an influx of tiny tokens of good will sent through Raphael.

        My favorite was a small blanket of cloth made of dried sea plants fused together by Raph. It was made by Anael's garrison and had the names of each one of them on the individual segments and a prayer for quick recovery around the edges. Apparently they each went down to earth to collect their own peice, even Ana's second, who i was sure would never willingly go near the ocean again especially not on my behalf.

       I was surprised Michal allowed that but it seemed Lucifer went down and created an ice wall around a shallow patch to keep the leviathan away. Apparently its only liquid H2O they can move through.  And that particular skill of my brothers ended up coming in handy when it came time to herd the leviathan into purgatory.

      I wasn't sure how i felt about dad neither fixing me or coming to see me while i was immobile, though he did give me a lovely place for me to rest. I was fairly sure there was some sort of object lesson involved with not healing me, and it was an opportunity for Raph to get a head start in learning to treat hellfire injuries.

         I know that, and by staying in the throne room dictating tablets it meant Lucifer didnt have to stay there. The throne room wasnt ever supposed to be empty. Aside from the few consultations with Michael, our father and Raphael and helping with the gift,  he just stayed by my side until I was allowed to go about again. That wasnt until i could hide the damage to my wings on my own and could make it to see Father myself. I forget what was said, but i do remember that he smiled at me and when it was over, i didn't hurt anymore even if nothing else had changed. 

        Lucifer wasnt exactly as satisfied with that as i was. I wonder at that sometimes. Why I wasnt more upset. It was probably because of the conversation I don't remember or maybe because of what Luci said afterwards

         "I hope that assignment was worth almost loosing your wings for." He'd asked. And that did kind of put things in perspective at least little. So I just replied.

        "He is." Because really he was.

        

          

        

         

      

         


	4. Interventions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel doesnt enjoy this one as much as he thought he would.  
> Alot of stories about home.  
> You can tell hes upset because he keeps going off topic.  
> They heckle because they care.

         It took a very long time for me to get back to peak condition. Peace reigned for an odd amount of time, partly due to the fact that purgatory was finally ready and it was time to clear out the leviathan. Raph had to rest as well, and make sure he was full up before the battle. And Michael and Lucifer had to revamp the battle plans due to my injuries. Well, they didnt actually have to because i was practicaly fine by then but they didnt want to take any chances.  
        And sure maybe i strained myself running interference and popping the unlucky ones who got caught over to a safe dry surface until the rit zien could attend them. Four hundred that I pulled out survived the battle. So many more didn't and not a few of those were ones who were healed once only to go straight back into the fray when healed. The ones that went back and survived though, ended up with a hell of reputation.

            Gadreel went back six times. Abner nine. Castiel seven. He wasn't even supposed to be there either. He and a few of those deemed less capable of handling themselves with water foes were left behind. But he saw his captain in trouble with a break in the line and went to fill it. Most of those left behind followed his example. His reward for his heroics included a lack of demotion for his disobedience and some special treatment they'd started when I was away. Alot of the survivors ended up needing it, especially the ones who lost brothers they were close to. Everything settled back down alot faster than i expected it to. (Yes i know it was mind wiping now, but i didnt then and given the pain it erased i didnt worry too much. You werent all emotionally stunted dicks from the start you know. Eons of civil war did that. Its called ptsd look it up. And its obviously not absurd or too human. If the shoe fits...)

        So... I ended up needing to wait for my wings to heal again, and my grace to replenish again as apparently using massive air pressure to keep half the oceans surface flat and waveless for an entire moon cycle was pushing it. Though it got easier as Lucifer froze more and more of the worlds water to herd them to the portal. Of course Michael ended up having to rethaw most of it which drained him just as much. The constant healing took a toll on Raphael as well. 

        As soon as the troops were all tended to, the four of us spent alot of of our free time in my room resting on dads gift. It was the best it had been since we defeated the darkness. We were all too tired to argue, too concious of the potential loss of each other. Lucifer lost almost half the feathers on his wings in the last moments keeping Raph and one of his attendants from a sudden back lash from the leviathan, so they were only pretending to ignore each other for a while.

         It didnt last of course, and really id have prefferred some other way for us to have been real brothers again than being injured in battle, but karaoke hadnt been invented yet. Besides after that, there wasnt exactly much of anything that could stand against us but each other, sort of. 

       Michael was the first to return to duty full time. He decided that I should train with him some more as apparently my blade work in that month long war left something to be desired.  He was convinced that the future would hold worse than leviathan. He wasnt wrong but i didnt know and couldnt tell what i did anyways.

        I apreciated the sentiment but I've always been more of a lover than a fighter. His intensive pay through the pain training did come in handy when I hid among the Aesir. Hiding your grace means getting up close and personal with your vessel and alot of trial and error, usually erring on the side of bloody pain. Oddly enough neither the fighting or injuries got anywhere near to the levels in heaven. Not that Id ever have let my adoptive family know that. they'd have been so offended at the suggestion  I dont think they'd ever have gotten over it.

         Raphael was next. He decided that i should go with him to sing the rythms of creation to the little ones every now and then. His excuse being that i was the only one who could properly give tribute to the fallen with the songs of their birth, but each was such a complex melody it would have taken a hundred choirs. I had to settle for finding the one peice of tune that was unique only to that angel. It did keep me occupied for a long time. 

       Often Lucifer had to help me. For someone who couldn't care less about our younger siblings he was awfully adept at dissecting them to find their core. But mostly what he did was try and convince me to forsake my duties. Well, not really. He just pointed out that the messages didnt need to be delivered right that second. Just because i was allowed to skip forwards didnt mean i was required to.

       And yes my wings were still stiff (i half feel Raphael let me recover on my own as his own attempt to delay me. The same for Michaels lessons. And no i guess i dont blame them after the hellfire thing but still.) And constantly skipping through time was draining and it probably was better to wait until I was at my peak given what had happened last time. And technically it was going to be eons until the next message needed to actually be delivered so its not as if I was risking being late. 

         He pointed out that whatever entity had it out for me or the recipient of my message clearly outclassed me as i was. That was true but it was also true that this particular adversary always would be. (I wont go into details because recalling that particular conversation kniwung what i know now always makes me want to scream and destroy things. Hold on while i go decimate a few asteroids.... ....... Alright thats better.)

          And of course our brotherhoods fragile truce didnt last long. They tried though, i'll give them that. While Lucifer didnt outright support Michaels training me, and obviously felt it was excessive, he didnt pick fights over it. That was virtually a blessing actually. Michael reciprocated by merely pretending Luci didnt exist instead of saying anything back to the few well meant but unwelcome criticisms sent his way. That didnt go over well and neither did it last very long.

         The battle of wits were the first to return. Luci almost invariably won those. The beat downs, oh excuse me, 'sparring', increased. All those freindly matches didnt stay very freindly for long. Michael generally won those. The pretense of civility about it almost made it worse. You dont need hide training from the troops, and you didnt apologize for it either. So they didnt make up anymore. They just pretended they didnt need to. 

        I had thought that by keeping busy and out of everyones hair, they wouldnt fight as much. But nothing could stop that runaway train. It was always going to be something. I know that now. The darkness growing inside my brother was always going to find a target. I almost wish it had stayed directed at Michael, because he at least could take care of himself. But there'd be no avoiding collateral damage, i suppose, Humanity would never have gotten out unscathed regardless.

   One funny result of 'training' is that it both made the troops hyper aware that we outclassed them in every way, and led them to start making bets as to how long their favorite brother in arms might last against us in a freindly match. Or under certain conditions. So that gave me something else to do.  Something else to back up Michaels exhausting regimen and Lucifers entreaties to stay just a little longer. 

       Maybe it would have worked too if not for the fact that waiting eons to deliver the messages meant waiting eons to deliver messages to Daniel. And not seeing Daniel was hard. I kept trying in my more private moments to recreate his image just for a little bit, but it was always hollow in a way i couldnt understand. His true face was little more than a darkened shadow. Nothing like seeing him in person. Just Daniel without Daniel.

        He was so beautiful and not just the artistic blend of colors that rippled and changed so discretely reflecting his very existence and experience, the varying textures, or the shadows bouncing off his meat suit. His true face when properly backlit (by his soul, not that i knew what it was then) was divine. Without it, there was darkness. I tried placing a bit of my grace within the construct but it wasnt bright enough. I felt incredibly embarassed at the experiment honestly and didnt try again. Im just glad no one saw me back then. It would have been kind of hard to explain.

            A bit of trivia for the unawares. When we look at a person and can see the devil or angel possessing them, its because the true face of the being in control is superimposed over the the owners. Some people call it an aura, but what humans generally see an aura as, is like those magic eyes pictures. Unless you can look sideways into the veil in just the right way its a blurry formless mess. Still lovely but not the same. 

          The soul can be hidden by its own pain as well. A demon is just a tortured soul in such torment its covered in its own darkness. The true face of a demon reflects that. But a human in pain, damaged but unbroken can often have its inner light concealed by the scars. Almost impossible to tell from a person without their soul. (So give yourself a break for that one, Cassie. You had no real way of knowing without a hands on search. When you do whats never been done before you dont have the luxury of a checklist or instruction booklet warning you of the risks)

       A meat suit is really just clothing for the soul. So i guess the true face is... lingerie? Kind of a strip tease, as alluring for what is shown as for what isnt. For the longest time no one's teased me more than Daniel's. He wasnt Lucifer levels of beautiful, but he was warm and easier to be near.  Luci was all sharp edges by then, freezing from within. They described him as being covered in precious stones, but all of it was ice and broken light and just enough impurities to make slight colors when viewed at the right angle. But he was still as beautiful as ever and charming and intelligent. And sometimes when touched the warmth would return.

          Daniel was always warm. Just being near him was soothing and that made all the difference. It was just like when i was young and it was just the four of us. Lucifer used to be warm and soft with no sharp edges. Oh he could have them but it took effort. And with effort he could just mist and blend into the clouds. He natural state was fluid, and warm. By then, if you touched his wings the cold would burn you as surely as Michaels white hot feathers of flame would.

        Gonna go even more off road again for some more because i know you have questions. I can hear them. Maybe not you, but you do, yeah, you in the shirt and you without one. 'Gabriel',if i may paraphrase,'you keep referring to Lucifer as if he were associated with water and everyone knows you're the archangel of water' Ah ha ha, no. My element is wind and always has been. I'm the messenger, remember?

    Raphael is as far from wind as you can get. His element is earth. I know he can do lightening and such, but if any of you paid attention in class you'll remember about ground to cloud lightening. He figured out how to do that after i accidentally shellaced his wings. And let me tell you being forcibly ionized like that hurts like a motherfucker. Anyways seeing himself listed as wind probably irritates him to no end, which of course is part of why I did it. (Aw, i love you too Raph, and yes i did hear what you actually said, im being the bigger angel... really? A height joke? Dont quit your day job, brown sugar. Where the hell did you come from anyways. Eh, never mind not important.)

        And yes, i absolutely screwed around with doctrine and dogma when our loyal fans were trying to sort things all out. You see, its easier to call some one if you know alot about them and i didnt want anyone to have any advantages in trying to find me, whether they be angel or human. I try not to underestimate mankind even if my trickster circuit is basically nonstop jerry springer. 

        They kept denying Lucifer his place as archangel, though and i didn't want his wrath at the replacement when it was my joke so i took water for myself. (It has nothing to do with a 'brother complex', Sam. Thats just wrong and quite frankly crosses a line. Do i tease you about wincest fic? Well, okay i guess i did that once, but i didn't invent the genre... oh 'non-romantic' love. Well, maybe a little. Like your one to talk...you know I dont have to finish this story. Its truth OR dare. So is everyone going to just shut up and let me talk or am l going to have to start pressing mute? Thats what i thought. You see what you started Raph? Dont answer. Jesus, like this isnt hard enough without all the comments from the peanut gallery.)

      Alright where was I, Me wind (not water, Lucifers water), Raph is earth, not wind. And right, earth, i made Uriel earth because Raph liked him enough at the time not to smite him. And he was the only one with the sense of humor to appreciate it. Michael of course is fire and was left fire because anyone stupid or arrogant enough to summon him down deserved what they got.

      Alright, back to the history lesson. I went back to Daniel because i had to go. He pulled at me like the emptiness of the void. Apparently it was the same way Daniel was drawn to the idiot king. Seriously what did he see in that arrogant barely functional moron?

       Plus i was starting to feel extra smothered. How could i be expected to confine myself to heaven when there was more out there for me? Plus i could only take so many humiliating defeats at Michael's hands. A vacation with my prophet was long over due. So i snuck out. Not that i wasnt allowed to do my job, but i had been convinced at the very least that itd be easier on me if my brothers weren't consulted. Plus it was just fun to see if i could come and go undetected by any but dad. 

      Of course, poor stupid Numbnutz was in trouble again. I was almost glad to do it. After all I was telling Daniel that the man on who's behalf he'd been kidnapped, enslaved, mutilated,raped, and almost assassinated was in trouble. This was the man who was only stopped from murdering his best freinds through divine intervention (maybe i was still a bit pissed about the fire) and also mocked our father with half assed declarations of praise. This man would now due to his own hubris be reduced to wandering the wilderness in madness like an animal for seven years. I think its safe to say i had really misjudged the situation when i thought daniel would be pleased.

      When i got there, they were together in the kings bed, sharing quarters really. They were just out of a peaceful slumber and looked so happy. I still don't really know how the cause of so much pain can be the cause of such great joy. I just know it can.  

      I hated seeing them like that. And it wasnt jealousy, not entirely. Seeing them there, both looking so happy, that particular contented look on Daniels face, that smile... knowing what i'd been sent to do would destroy it. It was the first time i ever considered not doing my job. But it wouldnt have changed anything, just deprived them of warning.

       Numbnutz was apparently inthe habit of just offering up any dream he had for interpretation. Because you never know which one was important or how soon hed have to act on it so there was a totally official reason why he and his advisor/ dream interpreter daniel had to share a bed. Really. And he relayed an odd almost nightmare that he didnt actually think meant anything.

        If I hated seeing Daniels happiness with an idiot, i hated the look on his face that replaced it even more. I whispered the meaning ofthe dream into his ear as gently as i could, i even apologized for it. He didnt know it was my job to carry it out as well. I never told him. It took him a whole hour to compose himself enough to relay the message, his idiot king trying to comfort him the whole time. 

           They tried everything they could think of to prevent it from happening. They begged and plead and prayed and even set up protections for Daniel just in case. Nebuchadnezzar managed to humble himself sufficiently for a whole year, but in the end, a good day, good wine, and an ineffably proud spirit brought him down. And as surely as the king suffered, Daniel suffered. I tried to help, i really did. After all if nobody ordered me to protect the poor guy while he was out there, nobody ordered me not to, either. What else could i do hearing all Daniels prayers begging me to do just that.

          It wasnt hard, a little tedious. I learned alot about non lethal combat, conserving my grace, mercy, and solitude. I still hated the moron. If he'd been a better man, he wouldnt have had to go through this and I wouldn't have had Daniels lonely aching heart poured into my ears day and night for seven years. 

       If he was really all that bad of a man, as id thought, though, Daniel couldnt have stayed so constant, right? So maybe hate kind of became tolerate. And despite how cruel it seemed to me at the time, this lesson stuck and his worship of Dad was finally sincere. Though i wasnt feeling very exhaltant myself at that point. But for the few years he had left, he was devout and that earned him a place in the heaven none of them knew about yet.

     The ordeal weakend him, or maybe it was all the drugs and alcohol plied on him so young, maybe both. I didnt know he was on his last legs. My healing skills were limited then anyways. I might have done more harm than good.

        I found alot of this stuff out later. I kind of just left the second I escorted him back to his prophet. It was good to see him so happy, yet it wasnt, you know? I did time the return so perfectly my brothers didnt even know I'd gone. When they noticed my mood, they just thought i was sulky having to admit they were right about waiting. I did need quite a break before the next big messages, though.

  

 


	5. meet the new boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Gabriel learns that there really are worse kings than Nebuchadnezzar and that maybe Lucifer isnt the brother who understands him best.

     I was kind of surprised it was Raphael who sought me out later. I hadnt caused any trouble in a while though, and while both Michael and Lucifer had defended my antics in the  past, (mostly Lucifer, making satan my own personal defense attourney, how bad is that)it was only ever in response to the other elder brother complaining about something I'd done, or not done in one spectacular case. I knew they were enjoying the peace and predictability too much to notice I was miserable.

        Raphael was actually worried though and decided to make sure i was alright. And it really shouldnt have surprised me. After all it was Raphael who knew when Michael needed to be pulled away from his duties for some fun or pushed back into them when fuming over a clash with Lucifer. (Who wasnt always wrong either) He was also the one who knew enough to ask that one question that led to me loosing my only sanctuary besides the fledgling free soon to be repurposed garden.

        And he came to the garden and sat next to me and let me complain about things like confusion and longing and pain without asking questions i wasnt allowed to answer. Sure he always said he couldnt heal injuries of the heart and mind, but  he soothed them for me without even trying. What was more, i didnt know anyone else ever felt as close to the same way as I did. I certainly didnt know that he ever felt overlooked or ignored.

       Id actually kind of believed that he didnt care at all that Lucifer ignored him and preferred me, or that seeing how much I enjoyed Lucifers company made him feel how I felt when Daniel was happy with his idiot king. And thats not even going into how me and Luci ended up taking the lions share of Michael's attention as well, no matter how much Id have preffered just a little less of it. I don't know if that was neccessarily true of Lucifer. He was always kind of an any attention is good attention.... (yeah, attention whore, i was trying to be delicate Raph but thank for that.... yes, why dont you go find something else to do?)

       Anyways, that kind of made me feel bad because of all my big brothers Raphael was the least controlling, stifling, pain in the ass of them. It also kind of made me a bit happier too, because Ive always loved my brother and if I felt towards daniel how Raph felt towards me, then maybe Daniel felt about me the way i did my brother.

      (Dont 'oh, hon' me. I know how dumb it was now and thinking about it still makes me cringe. But you know i dont regret being a dumb ass if only because when I explained my logic to Raph it made him smile for the first time in a while. What?.... no, don't 'awww' me either. Dont go 'awww'. I wasnt trying to complement him, it was an accident like the slights werent intentional either. It wasnt fucking cute! Shut up. And i am not blushing! Fine, mute everybody but me)

             Anyway, after a great big bear hug that he claimed nearly tore out a few of his big larger mossy feathers (He knows he loved it) I left to deliver what i thought was the next message. I wasnt paying close enough attention, honestly. I expected to be delivering it to Numbnutz. After all it wouldn't be unexpected for him to screw up yet again. But it wasnt. He'd died a few short years after the last message. 

         What i definitely was not expecting was the scene that awaited me. Numbnutz's brat of a son was throwing a feast with the pillaged offerings from one of Dad's temple. Now, you have to know has no real preference for gold and jewels over any other parts of his creation any more than human parents have an inordinate fondness for crayon, half dried playdough cats, and macaroni portaits. But that also doesnt mean that hes okay with someone breaking into the house smashing gifts and jerking off onto the pile in front.of said children before setting it on fire, metaphorically speaking. Thus, Wrath. 

         And well deserved wrath. Epic wrath. A what the fuck is wrong with you do you even have a brain what exactly were you expecting kidnapping liam neesons family you are so fucked you no longer know the true meaning of the word, i dont care if you are also technically my child i will smite you from here to eternity Wrath (not quite 'thats it im flooding the damn world and starting over' Wrath or 'kill every first born child' wrath but definitely up there in the top ten)

          And so I happily wrote the message upon the wall in the guise of a disembodied hand for extra freak out points (because why the hell not. I only wished Daniel had been there to see the look on If-joffrey-made-it-to-18's face and was fairly sure Daniel wished he had been too). It was in fact the most badass declaration of paternal wrath to exist until the advent of the Taken speech with a pithy berevity not often seen outside sparta.

Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin

Which while ignoring the details of splitting the kingdom and giving it to junior's enemies is best boiled down to.

Son, you done fucked up.

Thats when the queen 'remembered' Daniel. And had him brought in to translate. Upon his entry the young king immediately understood both why the eunuch held such a high place in his fathers court and why his mother was so hot to get rid of him.  It was also clear that Daniel did not give two shits about any of that or them. If he had the option he'd probably have wanted to carve the message himself preferably in their forheads.

      So the uppity little shit offers Daniel back his position, with all that entailed, if he could interpret the writing. Daniel tells him to go fuck himself in then politest most unmistakable way and delivers the message I whispers into his ear with a dignified gravitas belied only by his eyes. (Ancient babylonian didnt have a word for schadenfreud, but it was the most accurate description, almost violently so)

         Boy king the soon to be deposed replied by informing the prophet that he would be 'rewarded' anyways and that was that. If the assassins found him a few hours earlier that night than they otherwise would have, it made no difference in the long run to anyone but Daniel. At least not that anyone mentioned to me. I was just protecting the prophet after all.


	6. The Thing with the Lions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's just being a good freind thats all. Really. If hes a freind and not just an faceless servant of an unfathomable god to the prophet. Which he might be. Maybe.
> 
> Does it count as a date if you're working?

        When Darius took charge he was sixty two and not an absurdly virile sixty two either. So while he appreciated all of Daniel's assets, his admiration was more subdued. No less possessive than Nebuchadnezzar but Daniel appreciated it and his fondness for his new king was a gentler sort. Darius also appreciated Daniel's honesty, sass, and intelligence and so left him in place as the third ruler of the kingdom.

  
       I kind of figured I might as well stay until the next messages. Maybe make sure no one harmed my prophet, and that when the man shed a few tears at his losses, he was comforted by the embrace of a soft golden wings hidden in the veil. He was safe, though lonely, honored and protected. He kept busy with work making all under him prosper and passing judgements to rival Solomon. Without having to threaten to cut babies in half either. When to be kind, when to be merciful, when not to be. And if he had a few where he prayed for enlightenment and I could tell him a few things he didnt know, such as one person saying a thing that wasnt correct, then what was wrong with that? 

       The other advisors (most new, some old) were resentful and jealous of daniel and whispered plots that came to nothing until one day, they made a bold reckless move, taking advantage of an arrogant and inebriated king and having him sign into law a blasphemus tribute to his own ego. Of course even by then I was more exhaspersted than surprised. No one was to worship any but Darius for a certain period of time.  
       Daniel of course having brass balls boundless faith and maybe a death wish, not only refused to worship any but our father, but performed said worship in front of open windows in full view of the court yard. And so despite incredible reluctance on Darius part, Daniel was thrown ( well gently lowered) into a den of hungry lions (rather ill kept lions not quite as fast as they used to be at midday when they were sleeping and maybe he was left a knife that might have helped had Daniel had any actual martial training at all but in reality would only serve to make them mad) And he was left there a full day with Darius giving a plea that Daniels god spare him.

  
       It wasnt too difficult for me to keep the lions asleep and use a temporary vessel to speak with Daniel, who refused to fall asleep. For the first time we were able to talk, the two of us angel to man. Yes it was mostly about how much Daniel missed Nebuchadnezzar, and I just barely keeping from stammering various awkward praises of Daniel's faithfulness, richeousness, how god rewards faith, yada, yada.

       Yes, I went total raving fangirl, but you know what its like. You can work with someone and think theyre great but then actually spend time with them as a person and find they really are as wonderful as they seemed. And it was worth making an ass of myself to hear Daniel's thanks and recognition for everything I'd had done, even if had (mostly)been at Dad's command. It was along time before anything outdid the memory of Daniel's shy smile when he said "Even so, I'm grateful for you." 

          The conversation also mentioned a few dream interpretations that i think I forgot to mention earlier then. I'd kind of done them out of order. The battle with the leviathan kind of took more out if me than I assumed. Dad actualy introduced me to Daniel formally in that one and the first time i had to take a vessel. It was both flattering and embarrassing when the prophet fainted at the sight of me. Which was apparently why i needed the vessel, I needed to be physically able to touch him and bring him too. Of course it was because he had a mild flu and not actually because I was so impressive and intimidating. The borrowed meatsuit wasnt that outstanding and i couldnt stay for long or it would break. 

       It was interesting though. And i thought maybe i could make his own for the next meeting. A better one that Daniel might maybe like more. Or even just a way to temper my real form so it doesnt do to them what it did the first time i accidentally revealed himself to a band of robbers he didnt know were there when i was trying to condense himself for that very first message. I'm just lucky the poor crippled girl didnt get hurt by it. Of course now i understand that whole disaster and why dad seemed so odd when he gave me that assignment, and in person as well. I wasn't questioning my role then. I still say it wasnt as funny as he thinks it was. (No I wont expand on that, thats a story for another day.)

          But that particular illusion was for ultra special occaisions only. And Dad actually introduced me to remind me why i was there. It really is odd though how in that borrowed wrapping a simple disheveled flush of Daniel's cheeks could make me forget what I was there to say. I was glad to leave it behind at the time. 

           Obviously though, Daniel came out even better than before. I skedadled before I could do or say anything more awkward than I had already. I didnt know Darius threw the entire families of those advisors in there until much later. Even the kids. Numbnutz wouldnt have done that. Even if the children would have had to die, he wouldnt have had them torn apart by lions. 

        


	7. Cracks in the Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where everyone sees things they never wanted to see.
> 
> Evolution is the devils handiwork

       When I got back home, it occured to me that maybe for the rest of the messages I could use a vessel again. There were alot of them and what if he got sick again or just needed a shoulder to cry on. I'd already seen how hard it was on him being so alone. Even if I was there, there's only so much you can do from the veil and i thought that maybe with a solid form i could be more of a comfort to him. Of course if i was going to be around him itd have to be a vessel that was suficiently impressive enough not to look odd next to his. Not many vessels are good enough to hold me long and they tend to be more cute than anything.  I didnt really think cute would cut it. (C'mon I was young, you've been young, don't tell me you don't understand.) 

        The first thing i did was make sure my brothers were suitably occupied with whatever they were doing, and went to my quarters to see what I could do. Aside from being injured or exhausted I never actually used my room. It was some place we could be alone to plan and gather our thoughts yet still be easily found. Of course, for me, the times i actually wanted solitude were times that i absolutely did not want to be found, easily or otherwise. So unless they knew i was there, they'd long since stopped checking in it if they didnt know where i was.

       Which of course made it the perfect place to try out different appearences or even just manifestations to superimpose on my vessel to make it complementary to Daniel's. You know, like picking out a tie and corsage to match your prom dates dress. Michael always looked commanding and impressive. daniel had loved that about Numbnutz, who did have his moments. It seemed to be part of being a king, like a robe you just slip on when the need arose. Of course, he had also been handsome, too.  

     Not that Michael's not handsome, but its not the same kind of handsome. More like Katherine Hepburn handsome or Segourney Weaver handsome, and not Shemer Moore or harrison ford handsome like Raph. Of course, Raphaels also slow, steady, serene, calm (at least he was before he lost his damn mind) Daniel did like serenity, but thats not really my thing. Sure sometimes I can manage it, but i usually have to be singing or so deep in concentration I'm pretty much dead everything else in the world. Or, of course, severely injured. which is more often than I feel is reasonable for the fourth most powerful angelic being of all creation. Though, all of my brothers claim it's because I either don't pay enough attention or pay too much attention, or both at once.

        So calm was out, handsome was out, all that was really left was beautiful. I still wonder if Daniel had ever gotten to see beauty equal to his own anywhere but a mirror. Not even then really, old mirrors were crap. At that time, the only thing i'd seen more lovely than Daniel was Lucifer.

        Of course, my brothers just couldn't let much time pass without trying to find out what I was doing. Which was entirely my fault, I admit. Not because of a prank either, not really. When Michael asked me to make a prototype team building obstacle course thing, he shouldn't have said to 'surprise him' if he didn't actually want to be surprised. And you can stop whistling Alouette, Raph. I haven't forgotten the threatened consequences of going into detail about that. Don't know why you're so pissy about it. You were just the witness. Okay, shutting up.

       Raphael found me a lot sooner than I expected. He just asked what in heaven I was doing. I still maintain that 'Nothing, never mind, it's for work, just shut up and go away.' was an entirely appropriate response to the invasion of my privacy. And I wasn't a lie, it was for work. I just wasn't a vital absolutely necessary thing for it.

        Of course, Michael would be close behind him probably because of a conversation much like the one that led me to shellac your wings, Raph. Oh, what conversation? 

  'Michael, Gabrielks acting kind of strange.'

   "Define strange."

   'I'd usually say, like Gabriel, but kind of stranger than that.'

   "I'll go check on him."

      Yes, I heard that. And I wasn't doing anything. I was just just trying to figure out how to fly upside down so it looked like i was walking on the ceiling. Because I was bored, obviously...Oh by 'what the hell' you meant these. They're my sockangel hand puppets. Want one? The red ones Michael. Here, now you can wear him.  And of course a fishnet Lucifer for you, darling. Now no starting the asockalypse until after story time or they'll have to go back in the box..... okay, lets all take a moment so Sam can stop laughing.  You okay, Samshine? Okay.

     Thankfully all Michael did was pause briefly in the hallway, raise an eyebrow and pass by without comment. I don't know why but I find my brothers so much more loveable when they're not speaking.... yes, im sure you do, too Raph. And when did you get to be such a snarky bitch anyways? For the record, though, I'm kind of loving it.

     I wasn't so lucky with Lucifer. It figures he'd catch me trying to copy his appearance and laughed way more than i felt appropriate. Granted it was a fairly absurd apparition. While Luci can wear just about anyone and look good, it seems no one can wear Lucifer quite like Lucifer. But still, it really wasn't that funny.( Or cute, Raph. You didnt even see.... oh dad no, you did. Well, thank you for not mentioning it before and fuck you for doing so now.)None of my brothers are exactly big on apologies, but he did make up for embarrassing me with a kiss to the head and asked why my own adorable self was no longer good enough for me.

     In hindsight I probably shouldn't have said it was to be a more appropriate companion for Daniel, or at least used other words or not used his name. But it's hard trying to figure out what to say or not say too much and I didn't want to just shut him down by saying 'it's for work'. I mean, he was actually kind of warm at the moment and soft. Softer and warmer than he had been in a while. I didn't want to push him away. Of course, he refroze almost as soon as I said it, so... so much for that.

    "If this Daniel told you that you aren't enough as you are than clearly he's less than deserving of either your companionship or your attention. what in all of creation could possibly have the arrogance to demand any kind of change from you?" And it was the perfect big brother thing to say, like so much of what he used to say and think and... anyways, it was how he said it, with a quiet sort of anger that usually ended with a training challenge to or from Michael. He also demanded to know which Daniel it was, forgetting that we'd lost all but one of them fighting the leviathan. I was just picturing in my head him going after my prophet and my having to step in to save him. 

     So I had to clarify that this Daniel doesn't actually exist yet and he didn't ask or imply anything at all.  Maybe I looked frightened I don't know, but he looked a bit chagrined and smiled at me reassuringly, asking if that was the entire truth of the situation. Which it wasn't, really, but not what I'm sure he was thinking. I just had to tell him flat out that Daniel simply preferred someone else to me, though that person was now gone and I thought a different appearance might help him notice me a little better. It was entirely me wanting more of his attention and nothing else. I'd never have admitted that to either of my other brothers at the time, of course. I'd have just gotten a roll of the eyes or a lecture on how the performance of my duties or something like that.

  Lucifer just put his arms on my shoulders and  said 'That's easy. Just go to him and say. 'pay attention to me'." And he rested his forehead against mine with pathetic out that was clearly meant to be me until I laughed at him and told him i wasn't that desperate yet. which was only just barely true. He made me prove it by hopping down to earth with him for a little while.

  This was the third day and my absolutely spoiled big brother had been given dominion of the earth, tasked to oversee it as the gears turned towards more and more complicated beings. There was a general outline, certain creatures had to survive, certain others to perish, some disasters averted, some encouraged, but it gave all of us something to do as Dad turned his attention to the creation of souls. So yes, evolution is in fact the devil's handiwork. He was just the craftsman though, Dad was the architect.

    It was little more than playing really. A game of subtlety though, not force, which was why it had to be Lucifer in charge. Michael got to take a contingency and tweak the stars and planets. In truth the morning star was made and named after Lucifer, not the other way around. It was kind of an apology for all the conflict the past few days and everyone was happier and got along better than at any other point in creation. When we talk about paradise, the third to fifth days were what we're thinking about even if there was so much mind wiping later on that almost none of us really remember it. 

    Each garrison had a corner of the world to watch and observe. the continents took forever to break apart and make stay apart. But it was all so fast. like a big game of sims sped up. We saw trees dance and mountains bloom and break like waves of earth. Fires broke out like lightening over the grasslands,. barely any time between the destruction and renewed growth. And it was all building, building up to what i knew was coming. It wasn't less exciting either. It was almost more. Like you know a disney movie ends with the hero victorious and the villain defeated but what keeps you on the edge of the seat is the question of how.

   Me, i went back and forth between my brothers delivering gifts and messages. But through out, little details would catch my eye and make me think of Daniel. The color of his eyes, the softness of his hair or skin, the sound of his voice. So I finally settled on an the image more because i couldn't wait anymore than because i thought it was good enough. And i went to see him again.

 

     What i wasnt prepared for was being met by angels who barely even resembled any fledgelings id once seen. I couldnt even tell who they were besides being my brothers. And they attacked me. They didnt draw their blades though, and of course i wouldn't draw mine unless i had to. They couldnt really damage me, though my vessel wasnt enjoying the experience.

        She was not happy about taking a backseat, ill tell you that much.  She appreciated the mission of course, but couldnt understand why i refused to stab anyone who was detaining me...  Oh really? Tell me Dean, how often do you end an argument by pointing a damn gun at... yeah and thats why your Michael's vessel you psycho.  Let me rephrase that, how often do you end an argument with SAM.... thats what I thought.

       And they werent threatening Daniel. The delay was for nothing more than a dream interpretation so yeah forgive me for not wantonly murdering my brethren. Their wings were so damaged I was actually kind of worried about them. I thought maybe there was a curse or binding on them.

      For twenty one days I tried to subdue them, speak to them and they just kept trying to drag me further and further from my prophet, who kept calling for me. I begged them for answers but they wouldnt speak and did nothing but attempt to delay restrain and bind me. If i hadn't dragged us all into the veil at the first attack we'd have decimated the city.

       I probably should have called for Michael before one of them ran out of patience and speared half my wings. But i was more focused on dealing with the squardon opposing me and trying to figure out what was going on. Not that I could have known they were one of many placed around Babylon to intercept me on my next mission and bring me to Lucifer. Or that a web of silence was all that was hiding them from Michaels forces.  I found that out after id left. Not directly as that was actually one of the major battles in the heavenly civil war and my future self stayed as far from those as possible. 

      Unfortunately, while less than fatal, loosing the use of my entire right set of wings was incredibly painful. Especially given the spears they used. I couldn't fly anymore in any plain and I couldnt afford to be permantently detained, which id begun to think was the goal. So I called for michael, and this time he came. If Id known he was going to slaughter them all without hesitation, I'd have sucked it up and hobbled them.

          Not that it would have made a difference in the long run. Almost every single angel that took arms against heaven died. A majority of them at Michael's hand. A few escaped, including the one who speared me. I found his tortured body in Australia after Lucifer was caged. Apparently i was absolutely not supposed to be harmed and Luci was not happy that I had been. And yes thats why spiders freak me out now. You didn't see it, Raph. You don't know. He died from it. An angel fucking died from.... okay. Back to slightly less horrifying things.

   Because at that moment, the first most horrifying moment of my life, all I could think of was that my eldest brother, Michael, our leader, our protector had just slain dozens of our little brothers. He laid them to waste without mercy or hesitation and that scared the living daylights out of me.

         I was still trying to process what had just happened when he started over towards me to either fix my wings or kill me too, I wasnt sure which at the time. I actually tried to fly backwards to move away from him. Without thinking at all. It hurt like hell, but that was nothing compared to the look on michael's face when i did it. It just cracked and greif, shame, sorrow, betrayal, hurt and so much raw pain shone through. Immediately I realized i was missing something incredibly important. I entertained the thought that the angels he killed werent actually angels but fakes or illusions or imposters. I knew they werent and that Michael wasnt either. But its what I told myself anyway. My first outright lie and it was to myself. But then I guess the first lie kind of has to be, doesnt it?

       My second lie was to Michael. I apologized and said I hadn't recognized him. But I wouldnt have been half as terrified if I hadnt. We both knew it. But he also knew what I was really saying, that I knew him now and that I didnt have to be afraid of him. I also learned to really appreciate how the sight of us could affect people.

         But I let him come and take out the spear as it was in that awkward place where I couldn't reach it. He took his sweet time about it too, probably not wanting me to take off quite that second. But Daniel was still calling to me and I would heal just fine on my own, so i broke away with another apology as soon as I was good enough to fly.

        "Please come back." Was the only thing he said to me as if he couldnt trust himself to say anything else.

         "Of course,"innocent little me replied, not knowing why he'd feel the need to say it. By the time I understood why he was asking it i was too angry to care. I wasnt anything near what Michael wanted to come back, even if I was willing to go. 

          I was so shaken by the whole thing that when i reached Daniel it was an absolute disaster. And of course lucky me thats the story that made it into the official version of the bible. My concentration was shot and the injuries somehow made the light of my wings leak through both the veil and the crack of my illusion just enough to terrify everyone in the room. 

          Daniel was the only one who didnt run in fear and he clearly didnt recognize me either. He frightened and overwhelmed. Impressed and awed to be sure but that wasnt even close to the effect I was going for. Whats even worse is that I was so off balance by both the battle and trying to keep conscious a prophet worn down by almost a month of prayers and fasting that i stumbled over every word that wasnt preordained. I wasnt even entirely sure what i ended up saying. Im fairly sure i used the wrong dialect.

        Honestly i was so desperate to just get away from all of that distressing humiliating mess that I just fled as soon as i was done and had fixed up Daniel. I returned my vessel to the spot Michael came to my aid, just in case that was what he meant by please come back. I half hoped I wouldnt see him but i was ready to demand answers if he did. Which was probably why he wasnt there. All i wanted then was to go home and hang onto the one brother who used to know how to comfort me by just being there and letting things go unsaid sometimes. So i did.

          Raphael was decorating caverns, deep ones when I returned, but just let me stay and hold onto him until I eventually calmed down. The fact that he didn't talk to me or try to make me talk made him my favorite brother for the day. Im being serious Raph. I dont know how I'd have gotten through that without you.

         Dont get all pissy just because im telling people what a sweet and sensitive little snuggle bunny you used to be sometimes. Theres no shame in that. And doesnt make you any less of a bad ass when the situation calls for it. Now come on, give us hugs. 

Raph? Where ya goin?

Aww, He's shy. 


	8. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some times there are no happy endings

       I'm not going to go into the rest of my many messages to Daniel. They were just a lot of prophecies that were crouched in language I couldn't understand at the time. I didn't understand them until it was too late to do anything about them and everything had already gone to hell. They've all either already come true or have been averted. So all that's left to talk about was how things ended between Daniel and me. Which was that they didn't, because nothing ever started.  
Nothing horrible happened again, though. I never saw any of my future siblings again during Daniel's life time. And I did spend a lot of time with my prophet, however nothing came of it. He was never much more than accepting of my presence. We didn't become friends. I don't think it ever occurred to him that we could. But even when seeing him no longer brought me joy, it was still enough to make me feel better, calmer, just being near him. That was all it was ever going to be and I accepted that.  
       Don't look so disappointed. It wasn't some epic love story. It was a silly crush that never went anywhere. He'd never felt that way about me. he didn't even look at me as something he could love. It was only loneliness and heartbreak that let him even reach out to me as much as he did in the lions den, and boredom most likely. Sitting around not getting devoured by lions isn't very exciting. And it was probably better that way, honestly. There was someone who had his heart and always would, even if he was dead and even though I didn't understand why he could possibly love who he did.  
        Life isn't a movie. You can't force your feelings on someone or force them to love you by sheer force of will. You can't trick or lie true love into existence and you can't... sometimes you just have to accept and respect another persons feelings. It's not easy, it's not pretty, and it's not fun, but... it's not necessarily bad not to get what you think you want either. And granted, the slow death of one sided affection isn't as romantic as a fling that ends in disaster or dying dramatically for their sake, but it's a learning experience. One that makes it so much sweeter when you find love and it finds you right back.  
        I was there when Daniel died. It was his time and he was ready and he was grateful to have me there. I suppose at the very least he felt he could trust and depend on me, enough to usher him from the world. That was something. I saw his body cease to function and his true face separate from his body. His soul was so much closer and I could almost feel it, and I was about to give into my curiosity to peek around it's final fragile shell, when Raphael was there to stay my hand.  
        "You're not allowed to see yet, I'm sorry." He gave me a weak smile.  
         And that's when Azrael came for Daniel. I know they say it's me that was supposed to escort kings and prophets to heaven, but it never was. It was always her. For some reason they found the idea of the angel of death being present at death frightening and decided that a messenger was better suited, exchanging one courier for another in their records I suppose. She really didn't care as it made her job easier. I asked what she was doing with him as the other deaths I'd witnessed never had this kind of delay or separation. She ignored me, though I had no idea why. She seemed to be ignoring Raph as well, which was odd as they'd been inseparable the last I'd seen them.  
         "Sariel's taking him to heaven," Sariel was one of her pet names, though only Raphael could ever call her that. "Right, that part hasn't been built yet. " And a smile more bitter than any I'd seen on him before crossed his face. It was as bad as the look on Michael's when I backed away from him. "I never really understood. But with you doing it all ahead of time, seeing all this mess, no wonder you..."he didn't finish though, he just laughed even more bitterly than he smiled.  
         "Well, yes, you're all so busy. I tried to help Michael and accidentally set off a supernova. Dad actually had to step in and set things to rights and you and Azrael are all over the plants and air and everything. Michael and Lucifer are closer than I've ever seen them and spend almost all their free time together as it is. I did get to tweak this line that'll make either a cute fuzzy egg laying mammal or an enormous purple acid spraying insect, and Dad said that was enough. So if I get all this out of the way in between things, I won't screw everything up and also won't have to miss anything when the main event. Will Daniel be alright? I thought he was dying, but he just left his physical body behind."  
         "He has a place in heaven with his soul mate." Raph told me, not that soul mate meant anything to me then. I didn't even know what souls were. "He and Nebuchadnezzar will soon be sharing their happiest moments and memories of the people they loved best and loved them in return."  
         "So will I be there as well? Or do I get to go visit in person?" The question kind of took Raphael aback and I regretted asking it. "I'm not, am I? To either one. " Raph didn't answer me and I tried not to accept that as the answer I knew it to be.  
         "Were any of your messages happy ones? Any of your tasks? How many pleasant moments were you part of?" He asked me gently but it took the last bit of hope from my grace and ripped it into pieces. I hadn't known I could have my heart broken even then. I'm glad my feelings had dulled so much by then. I couldn't imagine it being worse. Raphael fortunately hadn't lost his taste for hugs yet, and so he just hugged me and let me cry. It was the first time I'd cried over anyone but my brothers. And of course this time, he held me so tightly that I half thought he was getting revenge for the bear hug in the garden when I first confessed my crush.  
          "I'm sorry, Gabriel." I didn't know what he was apologizing for. I'm still not sure. He didn't exactly do anything he needed to apologize for. "Just please.. please come back. Or stay. Just stay, here, now. Stop delivering messages early and just stay, now, here, with us and do the rest as they come. Don't ever go backwards again."  
           But I couldn't. I was only really supposed to stay for the messages and I kind of pushed it with this prophet as it was. I definitely wasn't supposed to go seek out or stay with my siblings. Plus even if I was allowed it'd mean I'd have to skip out everything between then and before. That would have kind of defeated the purpose of pre completing my assignments in the first place. And that was that. I said goodbye, went back home and had a grand old time with my brothers before everything just fell completely to pieces. And that's what happened with the Book of Daniel.  
 

So, now it's your turn, Raph. Truth or dare.


End file.
